Parents need to know that kids can play games and solve puzzles with online friends on this safe social site. Registration (which includes email address) is optional, but registered users can access more features. Kids pick user names based on words generated by the site so they don't disclose personal information. Chat is filtered against a kid-friendly dictionary and also prevents kids from typing or spelling out numbers so they can't share phone numbers, addresses, etc. The site includes guidelines for protecting privacy and respecting other users. The downside -- as with most social networking sites -- is that younger kids could feel rejected if their requests to be friends or play games are ignored. There are also some ads.

Families can talk about online safety and what's appropriate to share on a Web site. You can also discuss how to apply the social skills you learned in the virtual world to life offline: How would you approach a new friend? What would you do if someone was bothering you?